Behind the scenes
Sporting Gun|January 2021
Geoff Garrod says you can never do enough reconnaissance for your day, especially at this time of year when pigeon can be elusive
Geoff Garrod
Behind the scenes

It’s been a strangely quiet year for pigeon in this area and the numbers simply aren’t around. The times of year when I’d expect to see large flocks haven’t shown the birds. I look on social media and good bags are still being shot in some areas — just not around here. There’s an article to be written on theories of where they are and perhaps I’ll address that next month after a bit of research. For now, though, it’s essential that you keep a keen eye on your permissions to make the most of any opportunities. Autumn drillings will be the best bet for now.

Sometimes the most obvious-looking locations are exactly the opposite. I’m sure we’ve all seen a field covered with blue/ grey birds feeding away happily on autumn drilling. It’s easy then to think you’ve found a great field and how could this possibly go wrong with so many birds about. You’ll soon learn that, especially at this time of year, large flocks are usually a non-starter.

As you arrive to set up on a field like this, your mere presence will usually be enough to move the whole flock off on to another field — there’s plenty of brassicas around now that the pigeons can fill up on even if it’s not their preference. If you’re lucky enough to get a hide and a pattern set up before they move, your first shot will certainly get their attention and your efforts will have been wasted.

Drastically reduced

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